Unique

The girl was as unique as her name. Her bleach blonde hair fell down her back in waves that gave way to purple ends. She winged her eyeliner and lined her waterline with black. The way she applied her mascara gave her eyelashes the extra volume and depth. I wish I could say that I knew her, but I didn’t. We were supposed to have all our classes together but for some reason, she never came.

                Of course on occasion I’d see her stroll through the halls, her hair sticking out in the sea of browns and blacks. Those days I thought for sure that she’d be in class, but if I was being honest with myself, I knew I’d be lucky if she even came to one. Even the teachers stopped calling her name for attendance. They just knew she wasn’t there.

                I remember her first day of school vividly. She was tall. Maybe five seven. The other girls were only around five four. She had just sat in front of me in chemistry and I couldn’t stop staring at her in wonder. When Mrs. Kelts called her name, the class went silent. Ethel Dawn stood and walked to the front of the class. When she faced us, I saw a symbol on her shirt. The logo for the band Nirvana. She told us that she came from California. One of the football stars asked if the ocean was as blue as her eyes. She flipped him off.

                Only a week after that, I saw her in the hallway with Dalton, the hockey captain. He was getting close and trying to kiss her. The crowd was watching. We watched her smile at him and he took it as an invitation to move in closer to her. The crowd held their breath, waiting for the kiss. Only instead of a kiss, Ethel kneed Dalton in the stomach. Everyone started laughing and cheering but she didn’t stay and soak up all the glory. I simply watched as she walked out of the building.

                On my way to my next class, I heard her described as a “rebel” and a “tough cookie” but there was only one word that would describe her best.

                Unique.